A question/request for Bob Baker....

[doghawg]

 In my evolution as a handgunner I've been selling off the stuff that's been gathering dust and replacing them with FA's. I currently own one .475/.480 and it's a Magnum Research BFR....Nice gun, got a couple deer with it...But it's no Model 83.

 So my question is this....Since I'm perfectly content using the .475 loaded to .480 levels.....and IMO the .480/Mod 83 is a perfect marriage....and if I had a two cylindered FA the .475 cylinder would probably stay in the box...and since Ruger has chosen to abandon what is IMO the most flexible and practical big bore hunting cartridge around.....

 Would/will you folks at FA sell a Mod 83 with just a .480 cylinder and marked as such?

 Thanks in advance and Happy New year to all.

[Lloyd Smale]

im surely not Bob and i myself have pondered the same thing. Ive thought about have a cylinder cut for my 475 but i guess the money spent allways seemed like kind of a waste. The 475 will load down to any level a guys going to shoot 475s and do it accurately and 475 brass is easier to come by. Not that a 480 Fa gun wouldnt be cool. The big advantage to it i see would be the ability to shoot heavier (longer nosed) bullets that my linebaugh will shoot and my FA will not

[EdK]

Same length cylinder for either. As Lloyd points out 475 brass is more plentiful and likely will have a greater chance of remaining so. You can load to the same OAL with either: the 480 has a 0.110" longer exposed nose/the 475 has 0.110" more inside the case. More bearing length on the 475 bullet, same powder space. Why would anyone want the 480?

[doghawg]

EdK

 I understand your point and for the most part agree with you....But, in the drawing you will note the nose-to-crimp lengths are not the same. My 400 gr. (412 gr. from ww's) RCBS bullets in .475 brass give an OAL of 1.810" when crimped in the crimp groove. Before the .476" sizer die showed up I loaded up some of those RCBS bullets crimped in front of the driving band because they were too fat to chamber as cast. Accuracy was outstanding and I would expect the same load would do just fine in the Mod 83 also.

 BUT......That is not the point of this post. There are many bullets...jacketed and cast...that will fit just fine in the .475 Mod 83 cylinder and I have no problem with that. My point is that for the 325 gr. to 400 gr bullets loaded at from 1000 fps to 1200 fps the .480 cylinder would work very well. The older I get the less appealing the full throttle loads become ..........

 

[EdK]

The FA in 480 may very well be more flexible if factory-produced bullets are all that is to be on the menu. On the other hand a couple of custom molds completely erase that advantage and then some. I concur in not wanting to be limited to heavy loads but Lloyd points out the 475 is still very good for more modest loads.

On a similar note I've wondered if I wouldn't be better off with my model 83 in 454 if it were originally supplied with only a 45 Colt cylinder. Same idea really. However I've learned to load the 454 modestly - something many somehow do not think is even possible, that is has to be loaded red-hot. That simply isn't so.

[mk454]

yup, i have the 83 with 454, 45 colt, and 45 acp cylinders.  most useful well rounded do anything gun i own.  nothing it won't kill, cheap practice, modest hunting loads, it's all there.

[Graybeard]

I think the answer is no they won't but I will forward this to Bob to let him know he should drop by and take a look. He stops by time to time anyway but sending it to him will get him to drop in sooner I'm sure.

[Bob Baker]

Doghawg, we have received a few requests for just a 480 but not enough to justify doing it.  I won't say no but unless we receive quite a few requests then I doubt we will offer just a 480.

Years ago we offered the M83 in 45 Colt due to requests.  Then we found most if not all of those guns came back for an extra cylinder in 454 so we dropped the 45 Colt version.  I suspect if we did a 480 the same thing would happen.

Thanks for the input, it is appreciated.

[doghawg]

 Thank you for the reply Bob and I understand your position. I got to thinking about the resale value of a .480 Mod 83 and how it would only appeal to small number of buyers...people like me. 

 In any case, my next Mod 83 is going to have a .475" bore diameter........and two cylinders!

 Thanks again.

[Ken ONeill]

You'll never regret it.